if i tell the world i'll never say enough
by loved in shades of wrong
Summary: She's wondering why he hasn't said it yet. Like, actually said it. She knows she's kind of being hypocritical but the truth is, she can't say it first. She's afraid.


Note: Set after the 'This is the New Year' performance in _Naked_ but before everything in _Diva_.

After everyone's left the auditorium, she pulls herself up to sit on the edge of the stage and starts kicking her legs. She smiles when it looks like she's actually running against the ground below her.

She finds it crazy that just months ago she was new to this huge school, with no friends and no friendly faces but her mother's distant one during lunch time. Now she has a whole club of them from different grades, race and gender. She finds it absolutely insane that she has a boyfriend. A boyfriend who cares about her, isn't ashamed of her mother and is completely wonderful to her. _Jake_.

"I thought I'd find you here."

She looks up and it's like magic that just thinking of him conjors the very person who's made her the happiest she has been in a long time. She bites her lip to keep from bursting into 'Do You Believe in Magic?'.

Jake's leaning against the door of the auditorium with a crooked smile before he shakes his head and trots down. She sees that he's got his backpack on one shoulder and hers on the other.

Her kicking stops but her smile grows.

When he's close enough to the stage, he does a running jump and lands beside her without using his hands, and he looks up at her with a smug smirk. She rolls her eyes, laughing a little. _Show off_.

"What are you still doing here?"

She shrugs. "Today's been perfect. I guess I just don't want it to end, you know?" She looks over to him with a childlike expression and he's staring at her with a ghost of a smile across his lips. "What?" She ducks her head down bashfully.

He looks down and chuckles a little, shaking his head lightly. "Nothing."

Her heart beats faster when she catches herself wishing that he was about to tell her he loves her. She thinks back to all the times this week when he's tried to tell her. And then he sang that song yesterday in the choir room. She's not entirely sure if he was telling her that he loves her, or if he's saying that he wants to love her. She's confident that she loves him, though, because he's treats her differently than everyone else. He's the sweetest to her mother, and it's so cheesy to think it, but she feels so... special every time he's with her, either saying something silly to make her laugh or just sitting there holding her hand. Is that not what love is? She thinks so.

It's only when he puts his hand on her arm that she realises how tight her ratty tank top is. After dancing around the stage, the heat of all the activity caught up to her. When she was sure that everyone left for the choir room she took off her sweater.

She nervously shifts away and draws her legs up to her chest and wraps her arms around herself.

"Stop it," he says gently, sliding his hand to rest on top of hers, leaving trails of sparks in his wake. "You're perfect." Goosebumps rise all over her body and she resists the full bodied shiver she wants to release.

She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and slowly crosses her legs, moving her arms to hug around her torso instead. She keeps her head down but she can feel his eyes prickling her exposed arms.

She wonders why he hasn't said it yet. Like, actually say it. She knows she's kind of being hypocritical but the truth is, she can't say it first. She's afraid. She's scared that he'll change his mind after she says it because it doesn't sound right coming from her, or she's been reading all the signs wrong and he's not there yet. Or worse, he only loves her like a sister. But that's silly. Right?

She pouts slightly, and a crease crinkles the space between her brows. She just wants him to tell her exactly: _Marley, I love you._

She shivers because it's his voice whispering and echoing in her head, and starts a little when she feels him drape her sweater over her shoulder. She can't remember anyone from her previous schools who's been so nice to her for real, let alone a boy.

She whispers her thanks and he murmurs back his reply. The calendar surprise was so sweet, and she feels a little bit guilty that he's making all the moves. Maybe she should just suck it up and say it. She reaches up to toy with her necklace as she nibbles on her bottom lip. _Jake, I love you._

She nods and whips her head around, drawing a breath. "Jake, I-"

He perks up and looks at her expectantly. "Yes?" he asks when she doesn't say anything else.

"I was wondering if... you'd like to come over for dinner tonight? Mom's making tacos."

He looks disappointed for a second before he paints on a grin and nods enthusiastically. "That would be awesome. I'll have to call my mom, though. So she doesn't worry when she gets back from work later."

* * *

"Thanks again, Mrs. Rose," he calls into the kitchen as she leads him to the front of the house.

"Do you have the container to take home?" Millie replies back from the sink.

"Yep, have 'em here." He slowly rattles the box full of leftover snickerdoodles. "Goodnight!"

When she responds with a farewell of her own, Marley follows Jake out the front door and softly closes it for privacy.

Since the incident during Sectionals, Jake has been very attentive of her eating habits. During dessert he'd promised that he wouldn't take another bite of his snickerdoodles until she finish at least one red velvet cupcake. She knows how much he loves the treat, so she'd chosen the smallest cupcake from the plate and had eaten it to appease him. The grin on his face after she'd obeyed did wonders to her stuttering heart, and she'd grinned sloppily back at him, frosting on her mouth and cake batter between her teeth.

She finds it adoring that he goes out of his way to look after her. She's getting better - slowly, but she is getting there.

The fairy lights decorating the tree in the front yard sparkles in the dusky night, the street lamps shining on the wet pavement is like a spotlight reflected on to the two of them at centre stage, and the crickets chirp musically to a beat of their own in the bushes, keeping the roses company. Marley can't help but think that this would be a magical moment to tell Jake how she feels. He's done so much for her since even before they officially got together that she thinks the least she could do is tell him she feels the same way.

She slides her eyes over to his face, and he's smiling lightly down at her. This is it. Do it now. "Jake-"

"I love you," he blurts.

There's a pause where they both stare at each other in wonderment, never tearing their eyes away from each other.

"Magic," she finally breathes.

"What?" he laughs nervously.

"Do you believe in magic?" she backtracks. "I do. I think you're magical."

"Uh. Thank you." He scratches the side of his jaw and tilts his head to the side.

"Those feelings I have when you're around, I just... So many people don't believe in magic, this- this _amazing_ thing that seems impossible and scary because people can't explain how it works or h-how it exists. And it is - scary - but you make it so worth being afraid because... it's a rare feeling; not many people have it. I do, though. I have it and I'm so grateful that I'm not taking it for granted. Every second with you I cherish." She takes a deep breath and wills her stuttering heart to calm down. "You're magic and I love you."

The smile on his face is so big she worries that his cheeks are hurting. But then he pulls her into him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pushes his mouth against hers. There's a faint sound of the snickerdoodles hitting her porch but it doesn't register in either of their brains as Marley hooks her own arms over his broad shoulders, kissing him back just as deeply, just as slowly.

It gets more difficult to kiss each other as their smiles grow, so they lean back just enough that their noses are rubbing together.

"You're magic for me too," he whispers.

Marley pushes her smiling lips against his, wraps herself around him tighter and laughs quietly as he hums happily.


End file.
